The Roscoe, Snyder, and Pacific Railroad was given the line
from Roscoe to Snyder, but the length of track was only about
thirty miles and to build a new line, there had to be a minimum
of fifty miles of track. When the service was established between
Roscoe and Snyder in 1908, work was begun on the extra twenty
miles. The track proceeded northwest of Snyder toward the town of
Light, but that was not quite twenty miles.

A real estate promoter from Abilene, J. M. Cunninghan and an
associate named W. L. Powers, began buying all the land adjacent
to and northwest of Light. When Mr. Cunningham and Mr. Powers
were through buying land as the Townsite Realty, they owned
nearly two sections of land. They then brought in a team of
surveyors and had the land surveyed and laid the town.

When the track was finished, a special excursion train was run
in August 1909, that was celebrated with a three day picnic. When
the train passed by Light, it came to a stop about a mile further
on, almost in the center of the new town that had just been laid
out and staked off. There were several lots raffled off at this
picnic, and the new town of Fluvanna was about to spring forth.
Regular train service commenced in September 1909.

The people and businesses moved their establishments the mile
on to the railroad and Fluvanna. The name of the town, Fluvanna,
was submitted by one of the surveyors, Mr. Telford, because he
was from Fluvanna County, Virginia. The Town boomed almost
immediately, and enjoyed a steady prosperity. This prosperity was
enhanced when, in 1911, The Sante Fe railway extended its Snyder
line to Slaton. This made the Roscoe, Snyder line a connecting
link and insured Fluvanna's position as a shipping point for the
area.

This prosperity continued until the methods odds shipment
changed. When the highways began to be paved, and trucks began to
haul more and more freight, the dependence on a tie to a railroad
was broken. With the need for rail shipment decreasing, Fluvanna
began to decline. From a town with lumber yards, a two story, six
room school, a newspaper, several grocery and general merchandise
stores, and a bank, the town has become a proud, quiet farm and
ranch community; proud of its school, churches, and history.

Fluvanna Merchantile Company

The Fluvanna Mercantile Company, a pioneer general store at
Fluvanna, Scurry County, sold clothing, fabrics, groceries,
hardware, millinery, patent medicines, seeds, and shoes. It also
sold quantities of flour, block salt, and other staples. The
enterprise was founded in 1915 by D. A. Jones and John A.
Stavely, who first settled in dugoutqv homes after they arrived in the area just
after 1900. The Jones and Stavely families helped to build the
community's first Presbyterian church, a school, and a bank.

Original shareholders included J. E. Park, S. P. Smith, and W.
R. Craft. Jones was the firm's first president, and Stavely was
vice president. The company freighted in its stock on the Roscoe,
Snyder and Pacific Railway, which also shipped cattle, and
received flour and feed by rail from Sherman. After the tracks
were removed in 1942, supplies were delivered by truck. During
the Great Depressionqv the company
reverted to barter, allowing local people to trade cream and eggs
for store-bought goods.

In 1958 the owners sold the firm to J. D. Patterson, who
renamed it the Patterson General Store and took up residence on
the store's balcony. Its third owner, Clyde A. Smith, who bought
the enterprise in 1966, restored its original name, converted it
to a grocery store, and with his family also lived in the
building. In the 1990s the store continued in operation. Examples
of merchandise sold there in frontier days are on display at the
Texas Museum in Canyon. An official Texas historical marker was
placed at the site in 1970.